Harrenhal Mutiny-The Hearts of the Lords

In front of the Kingspyre Tower was a small military camp, and in front of the camp stood more than twenty Dreadfort soldiers. These soldiers were clearly elite, and their armor was sturdy and heavy, reflecting a metallic texture in the sunlight.

Two of the soldiers were clearly officers; their armor was even coated with a dark red glaze, making it look, from certain angles, as if it had just been drenched in blood.

One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Jon, you and Miss Arya may go in, but your guards are not allowed to enter!"

The guards Jon brought were all pulled from the "Heavy Armor Battalion." They stood there like iron towers, and their murderous aura was no less than that of the Dreadfort soldiers.

Jon brought them here not only to observe the defenses of the Kingspyre Tower, but also to test the extent of Roose Bolton's vigilance towards him; he hadn't expected them to be so cautious.

He had originally planned to unite with the other lords, each bringing some guards to meet Roose Bolton, and then launch a surprise attack. It seems that this approach is not feasible, and he needs to think of another way.

"Looks like Tywin's heavy armor has left quite a shadow on our Lord Bolton," Jon joked, turning back to say, "Alright, you can stay here."

Leaving behind his heavily armored guards, Jon entered the small camp of about three to five hundred men. Just like when he last met Roose Bolton, the men all looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Those who had been chatting and laughing shut their mouths, those who had been sparring stopped their movements, and all eyes were now focused on Jon.

Arya also sensed that something was wrong and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Relax." Jon patted Arya on the shoulder, and the two went up the stairs together. Along the way, he pretended to count casually and found that there were nearly a hundred soldiers in the Kingspyre Tower.

It seems that Roose Bolton is indeed extremely cautious, since apart from his own loyal soldiers, there is not a single lord in the army that he can trust.

A person who is always thinking about harming others must also have paranoia.

The brother and sister continued upwards, Jon was surprised to find that Arya had exceptional stamina, managing to climb hundreds of steps.

Apart from her breathing being a little heavy, she was perfectly fine.

Soon, the two entered the Hall of a Hundred Hearth Hall Hundred Hearth Hall, where several guards stood watch over the heavy oak door.

It would take at least seven or eight soldiers to close such an oak door.

After passing through the gate, we entered the Hall of the Hundred Hearth Hall Hundred Hearth Hall, where there were about twenty soldiers!

With Jon's current martial arts skills, he can only handle a maximum of ten people at a time, not to mention that the soldiers outside can provide support at any time. It is simply unrealistic for him to suddenly launch an attack now.

Suddenly he noticed Bolin standing next to Roose Bolton and realized that the man was looking at him with a hint of disdain.

I wonder what they're planning.

At that moment, Roose Bolton was sitting on the throne of the Harren the Black, waiting to receive the two. As Earl, his status was above Jon and Arya.

The moment he saw Jon and Arya, he knew it must be Arya; the two looked so alike.

"Thank goodness, Miss Arya! Thank the gods for letting me see you safe and sound."

Arya greeted Roose Bolton with aristocratic manners, and Roose Bolton returned her a rare smile.

Then he turned to Jon and said, "Jon, His Majesty Robb wants you to take some men to support Ser Edmure. Why don't you take Arya with you to Riverrun?"

"Support Edmure?" Jon suddenly understood why Bolin had been looking at him like that.

He came up to Jon with the letter in his hand, like a dog showing off a piece of meat in front of itself.

Jon took the letter, his expression unchanged. Instead, he smiled and said to Arya beside him:

"Arya, once I've settled the army, we can go to Riverrun together. Then you'll be able to see Lady Catelyn."

"Really!" Arya's eyes lit up. Compared to avenging Eddard, she certainly missed her mother as much.

Seeing Jon's reaction, Roose Bolton was somewhat surprised, but he simply assumed it was resignation. In fact, he was also a little puzzled, as he didn't agree with Robb becoming king, yet he still had to obey Robb's orders, and ultimately couldn't gain Robb's trust.

I got nothing good from beginning to end and I don't know what I was trying to achieve.

"Jon, I'll send Bolin to escort you when you leave. Leave things here to me."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Bolton." Jon maintained his smile.

After leaving the Kingspyre Tower, Jon continued to chat and laugh with Arya, not letting anyone notice anything unusual about him.

Robb originally made Jon his successor, inheriting the title of King in the North or, to put it another way, only when he was already desperate and felt that all was lost.

But now the situation is completely different. Not only are the Iron Islands considering an alliance with the North, but Jon's performance on the Eastern Front has also significantly tilted the tide in North.

"Power is a blinding temptation," Jon muttered to himself. But this also opened Jon mind; if he did something outrageous, Roose Bolton probably wouldn't be too wary.

So he took Arya to visit other lords, including Harrion and Meiqi Saiwen, who all gave Arya a warm welcome.

Jon was actually using Arya as a cover to secretly gather information about these people.

If they were willing to fight alongside me for King's Landing, then I wouldn't have to risk a mutiny; I could just take their people with me. However, the outcome was not as I had hoped.

Currently, the House Karstark still numbers around two thousand men in the East Road Army.

With the addition of the militia members who joined not long ago, this number will rise even higher.

When Jon arrived at Harrion's place, he didn't immediately say what he wanted to do, but instead treated him to a large meal of wine.

Finally, when Harrion was somewhat drunk, Jon got the answer he wanted.

"Stark, Karstark, we're all family! Lord Eddard is my family too! My family was murdered, of course I must avenge them! Jon, I'm waiting for you to lead me into King's Landing!"

Knowing that the Karstark would continue their attack gave Jon more confidence. If all else failed, he could put up a fight with his five thousand men plus Harrion's two thousand-plus.

However, this number is still not safe enough.

Then he approached Miki Severn.

This guy's attitude, however, seemed somewhat ambiguous.

"It would be best if we could break into King's Landing. Then we could do what Tywin did back then and make a big splash King's Landing."

But King's Landing isn't close to us, and there are so many Crownlands castles in between. The price we'll have to pay is probably not small. Actually, I think that as long as we take down Tywin, we'll have avenged Lord Eddard. Of course, if His Majesty Robb orders us to march into King's Landing, then I'll obey without hesitation!

But Jon, since Robb sent you to Riverrun, he probably wants to kill that old bastard Tywin first.

Meiqi Saiwen's attitude made Jon realize that this old guy only wanted to fight when things were going well; he couldn't be relied on in tough battles or when things were going against him.

Jon then asked the House Blackwood and House Manderly, and their answers also carried a hint of war-weariness, which puzzled Jon. The war had been going quite smoothly since its start, so why were they all homesick?

After some inquiry, it turned out that they all wanted to stockpile more food while autumn had just begun and winter was yet to come.

It must be said that the people of the North have a strong sense of crisis, but they all said that if Robb asked them to, they would continue fighting, fulfilling their duties as vassals.

There's a premise here – Robb's requirements.

Jon was certainly not qualified.

Although he had accumulated much prestige on the battlefield, it was not enough to command the heroes to set foot on unfamiliar land and start a new war.

Even setting aside these feudal lords, their own armies were a bunch of the Patchwork Army.

Although five thousand people seems like a large number, once the war ends, these people will all go back to their homes.

Unless Jon can earn his own territory, it might be possible to retain some of his men.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight days had passed.

Jon knew he couldn't delay; he had to strike first.

"Jon, seven thousand men is seven thousand men. Seven thousand men are better than staying here doing nothing!" Beric Dondarrion tried to get Jon to set off immediately.

"Seven thousand men are still a bit insufficient. As far as I know, the Imp Tyrion has doubled the defenses of King's Landing, to nearly ten thousand."

Our enemies are not just the defenders of King's King's Landing; we've already reached a consensus with Tyrell, they will definitely join the war.

"At that time, we and Stannis will not only have to conquer King's Landing, but also defend King's Landing," Jon Snow said, expressing his concerns.

The Red Keep, this royal castle, is completely separated from the walls of King's Landing's Landing, and its defenses are no less formidable than those of Harrenhal Red Keep. Taking it will certainly take some effort, and it might be necessary to defend against a siege while simultaneously attacking the Red Keep.

"Seven thousand men, and still so few. What are we going to do? That guy Roose Bolton hasn't even left the Kingspyre Tower much lately. Even when he does come out, he's always accompanied by a large group of guards," Thoros said worriedly. He knew Jon wanted to seize power, but the prerequisite for seizing power was being able to subdue the person in charge. Clearly, Roose Bolton had protected himself very well.

"Since he won't come out, let's go in!" Jon said.

"But you'd need to bring at least twenty men in to have a chance, and they'd need to be armed! Roose Bolton won't let that many of us in," Beric Dondarrion reminded him again.

"Jon, this is a mutiny! Aren't you afraid?" Thoros asked with a worried expression.

"If we fail, it's a mutiny; if we succeed, we'll be heroes who pulled the chaotic country back on track!"

Thoros and Beric Dondarrion were both taken aback; the sharp, piercing gaze of the young man before them made them tremble.